Arts Council Agency announces 2024 Master/Apprentice Program

The Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) is pleased to announce the opening of the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Master/Apprentice Program. The application is open in the Illinois Arts Council's online Salesforce system and has a deadline of Dec. 1, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. central time and the awards will be announced in the spring of 2024.

The Ethnic and Folk Arts Master/Apprentice Program (MAP) acknowledges and supports the mentoring relationship that develops between a master artist and their apprentice over time by supporting these individuals as they seek to preserve traditional practices important to their community, heritage, and identity. Ethnic, folk, and traditional arts and practices are the bedrock of artistic and cultural communities. They provide meaningful ways for individuals to connect with their past and build bridges to others and their surroundings in the present.

The MAP award is a fixed amount of $3,000 that is awarded to the master artist. The MAP Program is supported with an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Past awards have supported folk, traditional or ethnic art forms as diverse as Guatemalan marimba, hammered dulcimer playing technique, Ukrainian pysanky egg decoration, and tribal regalia-making.

An online webinar will be held on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at 1 p.m. central time. Link is available on the MAP Landing Page. The webinar will be recorded and available for viewing.

Also, IACA staff are available via two scheduled drop-in video meetings to answer any questions on the MAP program or the online grant system. You do not need to pre-register, simply click the link at the time of the meeting to join the call via WebEx:

Drop-in session #1: Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, 3 p.m. central time. Meeting Link

Drop-in session #2: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, 3 p.m. central time. Meeting Link IACA Master/Apprentice Program consultant John Gardner will host an in-person MAP application workshop on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, 1 p.m. central time at Artisans Off Main, 310 E. Main Street, Belleville. Contact John Gardner, [email protected] for more information.

For more information and assistance visit: https://arts.illinois.gov/MAP.